Gold Coast Metal Fans, prepare to be Conquered!

The Heavy Live Music Scene in some parts of Australia fizzled out towards the end of the late 2000’s with a vast majority of venues on the South East Coast of Queensland shutting their doors, leaving music lovers with the issue of travelling longer distances to see gigs and bands passing though. The Gold Coast was one of these areas which suffered massively due to these closures and restrictions. What was once a thriving playing field for acts such as Mourning Tide, Free For All, Time to Rise, Powerslam and Wish for Wings, over time the RSLs and Sporting Venues which opened up their doors for these acts, slowly started to close them, turning the bands/fans away and it was only a short amount of time following this that there just seemed to be nowhere for them to play in the area.

However fast forward a decade and there seems to be a growing number of venues once again allowing these bands to grace their stages with their presences (shout out to the Convention Centre and Miami Shark Bar) and that’s where heavy metal fans can experience the birth of the Gold Coast’s newest act to hit the scene this Friday.

Vow to Conquer; a 5 piece of metal loving legends will be having their debut performance at the Miami Shark Bar on and they’ve even offered to pay for everyone’s entry, all you’ll have to do is rock up on the night and get your mosh on. We’ve been lucky enough to work alongside the boys to get the word out and give heavy music fans an insight into their world by chatting to the band in the lead up to their first gig:

Give us a run down of Vow to Conquer, how did you guys get started?

BM Sanchez (Lead Guitar): Chip Dredd started out as a client of mine around 2010. We were chatting one day and he said he was the drummer for a Metal band called Dragonfly which recently folded. I was like, I play guitar and I fucken LOVE Metal, we should catch up for a jam sometime. So for the next few years Dredder & I would catch up jam every so often (you know get on the tinnies and play a few Metallica & AvengedSevenfold covers). We didn’t really start out with the intention of starting a band but we ended up inviting Hingle and Mena to come and jam with us because I knew Hingle could sing like James Hetfield and Mena played a mean rhythm guitar. Dredder had a cool idea to play a show on New Years Eve 2015, so the four of us played a show of covers ranging from Pub Classics to Metal Anthems. A couple of months ago we were referred to Slam, who had recently exited out of a band he was in. We were blown away by his voice in rehearsals and we asked him to be our lead singer so Hingle could focus on bass & back-up vocals. In just 3 months we’ve already written five originals we’re quite proud of. So we decided to launch ourselves into the scene with a fun night of covers and to show off some of our originals at the Miami Shark Bar on Friday 19thAugust 2016. We move really fast so watch this fuckin space.

Tell us a bout your musical style, what bands are you similar to (or do you have your own style?)

BM Sanchez: It’s really early days, so it’s hard to tell, but we are heavily influenced by Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, System Of A Down, and Pantera. But having said that, we don’t really sound like any of these bands to a significant degree. We are still in the very exciting stages of establishing our identity. What I can say is that if you love Thrash and Progressive Metal, Screamo, Punk, and Hardcore, you will love Vow To Conquer.

Slam (Vocals): I gotta say this is a tough question, so far it’s hard to even determine whether any of the originals have any common themes or sounds, let alone what else they are like. From a technical standpoint, we have varied styles within the band that seem to work really well together. Dredder’s drumming is insane, the guitar/bass work is tight, and the distinctly different vocal tones result in some hectic harmonies and blood curdling screams. We’re looking to get our first album out late this year or early next year, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for VTC.

What can punters expect on Friday night?

BM Sanchez: I haven’t really thought about this gig from the perspective of the listener yet, because I’ve been so busy perfecting my punchy riffs and shredding my guitar solos and all that. But I guess now that I think about it, you should expect a very fun & energetic show. It will be fun because there will be a lot of classic covers that you know and be able to sin(g) along to, and it will also be really cool because you’ll hear some of our originals and you’ll have a new band to add to your list of favourites. The best part about this gig is that you’ll be able to say that you attended Vow To Conquer’s first ever official show – that’ll be a really cool thing to be able to boast in 20-30 years’ time!

Which original song should we be there to hear?

BM Sanchez: We have five originals that will be scattered throughout the set list. In no particular order we have Duty.Manic.Death, my personal favourite original so far. It’s a Prog Metal/Screamo track about going to war knowing that you’re not coming home. We have Bend Don’t Break which is a sort of Iron Maiden-style track that sort of turns into a Punk Rock/Screamo song about a dude who embraces the verge of disaster. For the Metalheads we have Mystery, in that it starts ‘slow & pretty’ then builds up to Heavy Metal Mayhem – very tech as well with many bizarre tempo and time signature changes. Mystery is about suppression. Then there’s Spellbound which is another one of my favourites because it’s very Avenged-style with very catchy riffs and vocals. Spellbound is about getting brainwashed. And of course there’s Downstricken. The lyrics have a much darker theme, twisted with some morbid humour. I love Downstricken because it is nothing but pure 80s style thrash Metal. Think early Metallica.

Slam: If you can only be there for one of our songs, be there for D.M.D. Doesn’t matter what you’re into, you’re gonna love this song.

Any surprises?

BM Sanchez: You will be in Metal Awe which will come with an erection that you may not have been expecting.

Slam: We may be doing some recording for our first video, so bring your A-game.

If your Mrs/Mates aren’t keen to come along, why should they change their mind?

BM Sanchez: Fuck them. They shouldn’t change their mind. We only want people who love beer, Metal and a fun night of chanting along to classic covers. If you’re not into that then don’t come. I would rather play to 25 good cunts, than to 1000 shit cunts.

Slam: Fuck that. Bring them. We’ll bust their metal cherries.

Cost of Entry?

BM Sanchez: This gig is our shout. All you need to pay for is your drinks. Future gigs will cost you though – high quality Metal is not cheap.